Verizon, T-Mobile Both Have LTE Expansion Plans

T-Mobile
explained in its FCC filings that the portion of the 700MHz spectrum that
Verizon Wireless is planning to sell is relatively undesirable due to
interference from powerful commercial transmitters on nearby frequencies and
because of the lack of existing devices able to use those frequencies.
Verizon
Wireless, of course, does not agree. In a prepared statement provided to eWEEK, Verizon spokesperson Robin Nicol
said, "Verizon Wireless has made a strong case that approval of its
spectrum license is in the public interest. This purchase will put unused
spectrum into the hands of millions of consumers who will use it for
high-quality wireless broadband service on Verizon's 4G LTE-enabled
smartphones, tablets, and other devices.

"The
FCC and Obama administration are focused on making more spectrum available for
mobile broadband because they understand the benefits that will flow to
consumers from more spectrum," Nicol's statement said.

According
to Nicol, Verizon contends it "is also the most efficient user of spectrum
among the carriers. T-Mobile's arguments ignore these facts and the needs of
consumers and instead ask the FCC to second-guess the workings of the private
commercial secondary market. That is not the purpose of the FCC's review."
To
some extent, the real meaning of this clash lies more in what the opposing
carriers don't say, rather than what they express in their statements. Verizon
Wireless is right about its greater efficiency in using spectrum. The reason is
that the company depends heavily on LTE for its data usage and LTE is more
efficient than HSPA+, which is what T-Mobile uses.
However,
T-Mobile wants more of the AWS spectrum so the company can launch LTE, which
would make the spectrum efficiency argument moot in the next year or two.
T-Mobile, meanwhile, has a point in that Verizon Wireless already has AWS
spectrum it's not using and to let the company buy this would simply mean more
spectrum in its unused inventory.
So
who's right? That's hard to say, and with all of the competing opinions out
there, it's not clear we'll ever find out. But right now there's enough doubt
to go around. The FCC is taking its time to study the issue and it's fairly
clear that Verizon Wireless is worried enough that it's offering up its 700MHz
spectrum holdings on its own. Usually this is the sort of thing demanded by the
FCC, but Verizon Wireless is doing it pre-emptively.
As
to how this will turn out, I can see two likely outcomes. The first is that the
FCC will simply not approve the transfer and let the AWS spectrum get sold to
other carriers. The second is that the FCC will approve a partial sale and let
another carrier, probably T-Mobile, have the other part. That would make both
carriers equally unhappy, but it might give a little more flexibility to the
spectrum crunch.

Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazine's Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.

He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.